Dog Days
by Teddiursa48
Summary: The James-Jennings family is going on a family summer vacation. Tyler has convinced his family to go to El Salvador so he can be with Nikki. Stan has the responsibilities of a parent now, so will he know how to handle his puppies on the trip, or will Robert be the only one keeping his cool? Tyler x Nikki and Stan x Princess
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 ***Stan's POV***

"So, the whole family's going on summer vacation," I typed, starting a new blog post. I turned to the side, noticing that Gracie and Freddy were sitting on the desk. "Hey, what are you guys doing up?" I asked the puppies.

"I can't sleep," Gracie said.

"The bed is too soft," Freddy added.

"The bed wasn't too soft last night," I said. I leapt down off the chair and went over to the bed next to the couch. Then I realized what he meant.

"Robert!" I exclaimed. "How many times to I have to tell you, you and your kids can't sleep in Gracie and Freddy's bed!" I carefully picked up Robert and the two smaller monkeys one by one and lay them on the floor. "Okay, now you can go to sleep," I told my son and daughter, nudging them into the bed with my nose. I went back up to the computer and started to type again. "The family is taking a vacation to El Salvador, because that's where Tyler's girlfriend Nikki Ortiz lives. Tyler insisted on going there because he wants to see Nikki again, and even offered to Ellen and Bennett to pay part of the travel cost from his BMX earnings. Avery's excited because she says she wants to 'work on her tan' but I know that's not true. She's only been telling people that to make herself seem cool, we all know she's going to wear like a gallon of sunscreen."

 ***Avery's POV***

I woke up with stan at the foot of my bed as usual. I decided not to wake him up; he'd probably been up late blogging again. Ever since everyone found out Stan's secret, he's had to post more than usual, because everyone was begging for more. I got out of bed, careful not to wake him and went downstairs. When I got down there, I saw that Gracie was already up. She was up on the computer desk.

"Hi, Avery!" She called, enthusiastically, jumping onto her hind legs and nearly falling off the desk.

"Be careful, Gracie!" I warned. I went over to see what the puppy was doing. It looked like she had typed something in the word proceesor for Stan's blog. I read it.

"hi im gracie," it said. The grammar wasn't correct, but it was amazing for just a puppy.

"Did you type this?" I asked her. She nodded. "Mom!" I called, running into the kitchen. Mom was at he counter, Dad was drinking coffee at the table while he read the newspaper.

"What is it sweetie?" Mom asked.

"Gracie can type!" I exclaimed.

"First she can talk and now she can type?!" Mom asked.

"Come see!" I said, running back out to the desk where Gracie still sat.

"See!" I said, pointing to the text on the screen.

"Hi, I'm Gracie," Mom read. "Did you type this, Gracie?"

"Yes!" the puppy said. Her squeals must've woken Freddy, who lifted his head and looked over.

"Huh?" he questioned.

"Good morning, Freddy," I said, picking up the little pup.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Look, your sister can type!" I said, pointing to the words on the screen.

"What does type mean?" Freddy asked. Dad came out of the kitchen.

"As a child psychologist, I know that you shouldn't compare what one sibling can do to the abilities of the other, it could cause self-esteem issues," he said.

"Bennett, they're dogs," Mom said. Then Chloe came downstairs with Stan.

"So unless he just lets go, I don't think I'll be able to get that dead bird to Princess by tomorrow," I heard Chloe say.

"Guess what, Stan!" I exclaimed, running over to him. "Gracie typed her first words!"

"Really?!" Stan asked, leaping up onto the chair to see what his daughter had written. He read it. "Good job, Gracie! You're going to be a blogger just like your daddy!" He nuzzled his daughter gently with his snout.

"Are we ready to go?!" Tyler shouted, bounding down over the stairs in his swimming trunks.

"Tyler, we're not leaving until after we eat lunch," Mom told him. Tyler sighed and flopped down on the couch. He was obviously looking forward to seeing Nikki again.

"Do you want me to be your wingman again, Tyler?" Stan asked, going over and sitting on the couch beside him.

"Sure, Stan," Tyler agreed, ruffling Stan's fur.

"But first, the puppies and I need to go say goodbye to Princess," Stan said. I put Freddy down on the floor and helped gracie down from the desk. Stan leapt off the couch and lead his son and daugghter out the patio door and over to Heather's yard.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 ***Stan's POV***

I went up to Heather's front door, warning the puppies not to step on anything that might be expensive, like the flowerbeds and lawn ornaments. I jumped up and hit the doorbell with my paw. Heather answered the door.

"Hi," I said. "Is Princess home?"

"What do you want?" Heather snapped.

"I want to know if Princess is home," I told her. "The puppies and I need to say goodbye before we leave on our trip."

"Fine," she scowled. "But you still owe me a new purse."

"You have my word," I told her. "I was just doing it to help Avery. I can even get you a fancy one in El Salvador if you like."

"Whatever," she said. "Princess!" I watched as my wife bounded out to the front door.

"Mommy!" Gracie shouted.

"Mommy!" Freddy said, running inside and jumping up to Princess.

"Eww!" Heather cried. "Get this disgusting runt away from my Princess!"

"He's just excited to see his mother," I explained. "Freddy, come back!"

"Okay, Dada!" my son said, skittering across the white tile floor and back outside, his little paws leaving a few dirty prints on the tile.

"Look! Now he's left a mess!" Heather complained.

"I'll clean it up," I offered.

"No, just leave," Heather said.

"But, I need to say goodbye to Princess," I said.

"Well, if you like her so much, take her with you!" she said, gesturing for Princess to go outside. Princess came outside and stood beside the puppies and I. "She's just been causing me too much grief ever since we moved in next to you! So if it means not having to see you or your family again, take her!" She slammed the door, leaving Princess, the puppies and I outside.

 ***Chloe's POV***

I saw Stan and the puppies coming back from the patio door in the kitchen. Princess was with them.

"Look! They've got Princess!" I exclaimed. Tyler, Avery, Mommy and Daddy turned to look. Avery went to open the door, letting the four dogs inside.

"Why's Princess here?" Avery asked.

"Heather said for us to take her," Stan replied.

"What do you mean _take_ her?" Avery asked.

"She said that ever since she moved next door, that, because of Princess, we've been driving her crazy, so now, she doesn't want us to talk to her or have anything to do with her anymore, so she told us to take Princess," Stan explained.

"That's terrible," Daddy said.

"Does that mean she can stay?" I asked.

"Isn't three dogs enough, Bennett?" Mommy asked.

"We have to let her stay," Avery said. "Or else Stan won't have his wife."

"Yeah, you have to let her stay," Tyler said, standing up for Stan.

"Ellen, Bennett, you know how much she means to me," Stan said, nuzzling Princess behind the ear.

"Mommy can stay?" Gracie asked.

"Mommy!" Freddy exclaimed, jumping up on his hind legs.

"The puppies need her too," I said.

"She can come with us on vacation," Daddy said.

"Bennett!" Mommy whispered, but not very well, obviously, because I could _hear her_.

"But then we have to find her a new home," he finished. Avery knelt down beside Stan, Princess and the puppies.

"Don't worry, Stan, we'll work this out," she said.

 ***Tyler's POV***

Our plane started boarding at 3pm. Heather had dropped off Princess' stuff at the front door, so we put her in her carrier and brought her with us. Stan's carrier was only big enough for himself and one of the puppies, so Freddy volunteered to stay with him. Gracie, on th other hand, wasn't too pleased about having to share a carrier with her mother, because, as she put it, 'mommy's boring, she doesn't talk'. Then Stan had to explain that even though Princess can't talk, it would be good for her to spend time with her mother. So, Gracie finally gave in and got in the carrier with Princess. Fortunately, when they got to cargo, they put the two carriers right next to eachother, so they could talk.

When we boarded the plane, I got excited. Only a few hours and I would be with Nikki. I missed her so much. I couldn't wait to see her again. It had been months since the last time I'd been to El Salvador, so I'd only been able to text and call her. But aside from that, El Salvador is actually really nice. I'm looking forward to going back there, not just for Nikki, but so I can show my family all the places I went the last time I was there.

 ***Stan's POV***

"So guess what?" I asked Princess. "Gracie can type now!"

"Can mommy hear you?" Gracie asked.

"I'm sure she can, and I'm sure she's very proud of you," I replied.

"Are you proud of me, Mommy?" Gracie asked he mother. Princess leaned down and licked Gracie's face.

"Is that a yes, Dada?" Gracie asked me.

"I think so," I told her.

"Are we there yet?" Freddy asked. "I'm hungry."

"Not yet, Freddy," I told him. "Plus, we just ate."

"But I'm hungry," he said.

"Here, eat this," I told him, pushing a biscuit to him from across the carrier. He quickly ate the biscuit and before long, he had fallen asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 ***Avery's POV***

When the plane landed in El Salvador, I went to find the dogs. Chloe and I ran down to the baggage claim and retrieved everyone's luggage, along with the four dogs.

"How was your flight guys?" I asked the dogs.

"Loud and boring," Gracie replied.

"I'm hungry," Freddy complained.

"He's been hungry ever since we left," Stan said. Princess was asleep in her carrier, but woke up when I picked it up. Chloe took Stan and Freddy, and we went to meet Mom, Dad and Tyler. We handed them their luggage and Tyler took Stan's carrier. After that, we hailed a cab and drove to the resort.

 ***Stan's POV***

"It's dark," Gracie said, after the cab driver slammed the trunk.

"I can't see!" Freddy exclaimed, frantically wiggling around in the carrier.

"Calm down," I said, it's okay, we'll be at the resort soon. Fortunately, the family had decided that we should stay at a pet friendly resort. I couldn't wait to relax at the beach with my family.

"After a few minutes of 'Dada, I'm scared of the dark' and 'I can't see anything!' we finally got to the resort. The taxi driver came around to the back and opened the trunk, taking us out, along with all the luggage. He lay the stuff on the ground, along with our carriers, got back in the cab and left. Avery came over and opened the carriers so we could get out. I stepped outside, stretching my legs and shaking to get my fur back to normal. Princess, Freddy and Gracie did the same, glad to be free of our miniature prisons.

"Okay, guys, we're gonna check in, you can run around out here for a bit, but make sure everyone comes inside when we need you to, okay?" Avery said.

"Okay," I said, running around in the grass. The puppies tumbled around, playfully. Princess jumped in the air, happy to be free.

 ***Tyler's POV***

"Can I go visit Nikki?" I asked, eagerly.

"Sure, Tyler, just be back before midnight," Mom said.

"Okay," I said, and rushed out the door. I walked down the road and hailed a cab. I told the driver Nikki's address, and he drove me there. Once I got there, I rang the doorbell. Nikki answered.

"Tyler!" she exclaimed, bringing me into a hug. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I wanted to visit you," I said. I looked at my watch, 10:17. "Do you want to do something before it gets too late?"

"Okay!" she agreed, putting on her shoes and following me out the door. We walked down the road to a nearby beach. The waves crashed on the shore as the sun set above the water. I sat down, resting my arms on my knees. Nikki sat beside me, resting her head on my shoulder. "I missed this," she said, before I turned and kissed her. Then we turned back to the water and watchedthe sun set into the ocean.

 ***Stan's POV***

"What are you doing?" I asked the puppies, who were jumping up and down on one of the beds in the hotel room.

"I'm a gymnast, Dada!" Gracie announced, jumping up and doing a flip in the air.

"I'm a kangaroo!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Get down from there, it's dangerous!" I warned, trying to prevent them from falling off the bed.

"That looks fun!" Chloe said, getting up on the other bed and jumping as well.

"You're not helping Chloe," Avery said. Chloe landed on her butt on the bed, frowning. Avery picked the puppies up from the other bed and put them on the floor next to Princess and I. "These little ones should be getting to bed."

"I'm not tired, Avery!" Gracie exclaimed.

"I want to be a kangaroo!" Freddy complained.

"Well, baths are relaxing, maybe giving them a bath with calm them down," Avery suggested.

 ***Avery's POV***

"Or not," Stan said, Gracie and Freddy were paddling around in the water, having more fun than when they were jumping on the bed. Then, to make it worse, Princess decided it was a good idea to jump into the tub, and splashed soapy water all over me. Princess stood up and shook off, spraying even more water onto me and the floor. Chloe had her hands in the water and had given Freddy a beard made of bubbles.

"I'm Santa Paws!" he exclaimed. "Ho, Ho, Ho!" A few seconds later, Mom and Dad came into the room.

"What's going on in here?" Mom asked.

"We could hear you from across the hall in our hotel room!" Dad exclaimed.

"Avery thought it was a good idea to give the puppies a bath," Chloe said.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I thought it would help them relax."

"Well, obviously not," Mom said, lifting Gracie out of the tub and wrapping her in a towel. I took Freddy out and wrapped him in a towel as well. I helped Dad get Princess out, and Chloe started drying her off. Then, Stan noticed Robert, who had been on one of the enclosure shelves, was falling.

"Robert, no!" Stan said, leaping up and catching the monkey in his teeth, but landing in the tub, and spalshing yet more water, all over the floor. "Oops," Stan said, through Robert, who was still in his mouth. Stan got out of the tub and shook off. I threw a towel on him a dried him off. Then, used the rest of our towels and cloths to dry all the water off the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 ***Tyler's POV***

When I got back to the resort after my date with Nikki, it looked as though a hurricane had struck the bathroom. There were towels and facecloths all over the floor, which were more or less soaked as well. I went out to the main area of the room. It was almost midnight, and Avery and Chloe looked like that had passed out from exhaustion. Gracie and Freddy were asleep in their puppy bed, with Stan and Princess curled up together beside it. I grabbed my bag and quickly changed before getting into the bed opposite my sisters' and falling asleep.

The next morning, when I awoke, Avery was already up.

"What happened here last night?" I asked, still confused about the disaster area our bathroom had been turned into.

"We tried to give the puppies a bath," Avery explained.

"Oh," I nodded, trying to imagine what that could have been like. I was thinking I could suggest bringing the family down to the beach Nikki and I had gone to the night before. It looked like a good place for swimming. I think everyone would enjoy it.

"How was your date, Tyler?" I heard Stan ask from across the room. I looked over to where he lay. He had lifted his head from Princess' back.

"Good," I replied. "How do you like living with Princess?"

"It's only for a week, but I like it," Stan replied. "It's like the honeymoon we never had."

"Dogs don't usually go on honeymoons, Stan," Avery said. Stan got up and jumped up on my bed.

"Well, then I guess it's like having a real family, you know, me, my wife and our puppies," Stan told us.

"That must be a good feeling," I said.

 ***Avery's POV***

"So are we going to the beach?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Mom replied.

"Yay!" Gracie exclaimed.

"I like beaches," Freddy said.

" _Shell_ we go then?" Mom asked. "Ha! Good one, Ellen!" I rolled my eyes.

 ***Stan's POV***

"There's the sugar!" I exclaimed, running down the beach toward the water. I heard Avery laugh, right before I hit the water. I ran back out, realizing how cold it was, shaking the water from my fur. Gracie and Freddy began digging in the sand. Chloe took Princess on her leash, taking her down by the water to wade. I followed them, trotting beside Princess like it was a romantic walk on our honeymoon, which it kind of was, but not a honeymoon.

"Look, Dada!" Gracie called. She was buried up to her neck in sand.

"I'm good at digging!" Freddy exclaimed, jumping on his hind paws next to where he'd buried his sister. I ran over and dug Gracie out. She got up, shaking the sand out of her fur.

"That was fun!" she said.

"My turn!" Freddy announced. He jumped into the hole his sister had climbed out of.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I told them.

"Why, Dada?" Gracie asked.

"Because, I don't want you to get hurt," I explained.

"Okay, Dada," Gracie said.

"Let's go swimming!" Freddy exclaimed, running off toward the water.

 ***Nikki's POV***

Tyler was very romantic last night. We talked for a while on the beach, then we waded out into the water and walked down the beach together. So I was even more surprised when he showed up again this evening with a bouquet of tropical flowers and offered to go out to dinner.

"Hey," he said. He was wearing a blue short-sleeved, button-down shirt and khaki shorts. The front of his shirt was behind his belt buckle in his signature 'tuckle'.

"Hey!" I said.

"Do you want to go out for supper?" he asked, holding out the bouquet to me. Evita ran up behind me, curious to see who was there. I picked up the little dog.

"Yeah, sure!" I agreed taking my bag from the hook in the porch, before setting Evita down and petting her on the head. I called to my parents to tell them I was leaving and closed the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"I was thinking we could go to that barbecue place a few blocks from here," Tyler suggested.

"Oh, yeah!" I agreed. "They have good ribs."

"Then maybe Stan should come," Tyler joked. I laughed, taking his hand in mine as we walked down the road.

When we got there, Tyler found a seat, pulling my chair out for me, before going up to the counter and getting some food.

"So how's your vacation going?" I asked him.

"Great!" he said, through a mouthful of barbecued chicken. I smiled, he's cute even when he talks with his mouth full. He swallowed his chicken. "We took the puppies to the beach today and Freddy and Gracie had a lot of fun, especially when Chloe built them a sand castle to play in."

"Oh, yeah!" I said. "The puppies can talk, can't they?"

"Yeah, just like Stan," he replied.

"So, I guess you aren't a dog whisperer," I said, referring to when we first met.

"No, Stan was just talking to me," Tyler said. "He was on the phone when it rang. That's how I knew that there was a bur in Evita's paw."

"Oh," I laughed, finally understanding what had happened. A slow song came on in the restaurant.

"I love this song!" Tyler said.

"Really? Me too!" I replied.

"Shall we dance?" Tyler offered.

"Sure!" I agreed, getting up from my seat and bringing myself into Tyler's embrace.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 ***Tyler's POV***

I couldn't believe how fast our week in El Salvador went. I went out with Nikki a few more times before we left and it was really fun. Gracie and Freddy weren't looking forward to being trapped in carriers for another more than 5 hours, but, they settled down, and accepted it.

Another problem was that we needed to find a new home for Princess. It needed to be someone who lived nearby. If it wasn't, Stan wouldn't have his wife, and Gracie and Freddy wouldn't have their mother. It wouldn't matter if they were normal dogs. Most dogs don't stay with their parents/mate for life. But since Stan and the puppies are much more intelligent than that, and they would miss Princess if she was gone.

I sighed, sitting back in my seat. I turned on a movie. An old one from a few years ago, I'd watched it with Nikki while I was in El Salvador the first time.

 _ ***Flashback***_

 _"Nikki!" I exclaimed, running down the stairs from the plane and into the airport where Nikki was waiting._

 _"Tyler!" she exclaimed. I ran over, pickiing her up in a hug and spinning her around. "I missed you so much!"_

 _"I can't believe they made you come back!" I said, wondering how someone could be held back in their country because of beauty._

 _"I can't either! But I'm so glad you're here!" she replied._

 _"How much do hotels cost here?" I asked._

 _"Usually around $150 a night," she replied._

 _"What?" I asked. "Hotels are expensive! I only brought 200!"_

 _"Oh," Nikki said, looking down at her feet. "Well, maybe you could stay with me?"_

 _"Wouldn't your parents mind?" I asked._

 _"I don't think so," Nikki said._

 _Later that night, after we'd convinced Nikki's parents to let me stay for the weekend, Nikki and I were on the couch watching the movie. Evita had curled up on my lap, asleep. Nikki had her head rested on my shoulder. I'd never seen the end of that movie because by the time it was over, both Nikki and I had fallen asleep. We were awoken the next morning by Mr. Ortiz, who didn't look too happy._

 _ ***End of flashback***_

As I watched the movie, I thought back to that night. After finding us asleep together on the couch the next morning, Mr. Ortiz wasn't too keen on letting me stay another night, but gave in when we explained it was an accident and we didn't mean to fall asleep.

My mind wandered away from the movie. I started to think about Princess again. We needed to figure out who was going to take her. I paused the movie.

"Avery," I said, nudging my sister, who was reading a biography.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning away from her book.

"Where is Princess going to go after we get home?" I asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "But we'll figure out something, I heard Lindsay might be looking for a new pet."

"But doesn't she live, like on the other side of town?" I asked. "Plus she doesn't even come over that often anyway, not enough for Princess to be with Stan."

"You're right," Avery said. "and I think Lindsay said she wanted a cat."

"I don't know if we'll find her a good home," I sighed.

"Don't worry," Avery said. "We will."

 ***Stan's POV***

Once we got home, the puppies ran out of the carriers and started jumping on the couch.

"Okay, down, guys!" Avery said. "We need to find someone to adopt Princess."

"How about we ask the neighbours?" Chloe suggested.

"I don't think anyone will want her," Avery said.

"What about Karl?" Tyler asked.

"Karl!" Avery repeated. "How did I not think of him?!"

"Perfect!" I exclaimed, jumping up on the couch next to Gracie and Freddy. "Let's go see if he wants her!"

 ***Karl's POV***

I was working in my lab when I heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" I called, as I was busy working.

"Hey," Avery said, walking in with Tyler and Chloe following behind her.

"Hello," I replied, taking off my latex gloves and placing them on my workbench.

"Have you heard about Heather abandoning Princess?" Avery asked.

"Yes, I have, it's quite unfortunate, with Stan and the puppies needing her and all. Have you found a new home for her yet?" I asked in reply.

"Not yet," Tyler replied.

"That's why we came over here, actually," Avery said.

"Would you like your very own... Princess!" Chloe announced, as if showcasing the dog in a game show. Princess trotted inside at the mention of her name. I must admit, Chloe is very good at making products seem appealing. No wonder she does so well in the dead animal business.

"You want _me_ to adopt Princess?" I asked. Avery nodded. "I don't know what to say, I'm suremy mother won't mind, aslong as she doesn't get into the walk-in meat freezer. I could really use a friend to keep me company in here, I'm quite lonely..."

"So, will you take her?" Avery asked.

"I don't see why not!" I said, kneeling down to pet Princess. "Welcome home, Princess."


End file.
